This is a question you will have to answer yourself, all I can do is mention some of the things that my clients have told me over the years.
The hardest thing for any coach / adviser / mentor to do is to get out of the way. I’ve had a lot of practice over the years and I believe I’m getting pretty good at this. I have no products to sell and no interests to serve other than yours. Our conversation will be free of bias and focused entirely on your needs and aspirations. The truth is you know what you want, my job is to help you work out what that is.
I ask a lot of questions and listen to the answers. All of us are driven by emotion, especially when it comes to money, so the questions will help you to see that there may be another way of doing things. As a sounding board it also helps that I have thirty years experience to draw on. Many of my clients have been working with me for years, and when I asked them why they keep coming back one of them said it was because I had “…a unique and sensitive approach...”
It’s all too easy to focus our attention on the ‘here and now’, this month’s bills, this year’s holidays and the car that needs replacing. We rarely allow ourselves time to think about our future, even though we know we should. I will help you to establish your financial priorities in the order that’s right for you. Together we will abolish the fear and guilt that usually accompany neglect and create a structure that will build your financial future.
To make this work you need a plan. Imagine a plan that puts all the variables of your financial life together - income, expenditure, assets, debts, investments – and shows you an accurate picture of where you’re going. Would that be helpful? This will be the foundation that puts you in charge of your financial future.
I am a creature of habit, early to rise and early to bed. I like to work and I like to walk and spend time with my family, especially my grandchildren. Wendy and I live by the River Severn in Worcester. Wendy does the cooking and I do the washing up and we’re slowly giving away our books , as we learn to use our Kindles.
When we first met Nicholas we cheerfully announced that we were ostriches when it came to money – heads firmly in the sand. But actually there was quite a deal of pain behind this statement, along with a complete inability to move forward. Nicholas did not just tell us what to do, he helped us explore the pain and the emotions that were wrapped up in it, along with the embarrassment that we were in this situation: we are not stupid people but in this aspect of our lives we seemed to have failed miserably.
After only 2 meetings with Nicholas, we have made enormous strides in managing our money and understanding how we can achieve our financial goals. It’s very true that you don’t know what you don’t know - and like most people, it turns out there was so much that we didn’t. We are now so pleased to have a clear plan towards financial freedom thanks to the guidance of Nicholas. We would 100% recommend him to anybody that wants to achieve financial independence or be the masters of their own destiny.
I’m delighted by the insight and support I got from Nicholas. I wanted to get an idea of what retirement might look like financially, and by asking me the right questions and guiding me to look accurately at my financial situation he’s transformed my thinking. Retirement, when I take it, no longer looks like a precipice.
Working with Nicholas has helped me look at my finances in an open and honest way. He has a unique and sensitive approach which has helped me look at my current circumstances. Together we have set an achievable budget and I have become much more conscious of managing my money in order to stay within that budget. I feel far more confident now about the things I can and can’t afford, outside of the everyday essentials. Happily I have now been able to buy my campervan with the knowledge that it is affordable. I feel far more in control of this aspect of my life.
Nicholas has helped me tremendously. I came to him when I felt I had exhausted all the avenues that budgeting apps, spreadsheets and online banking could offer me. I knew I had a confused relationship with money but didn’t know how to break habits learnt in childhood. Nicholas has a methodical and practical approach, that is gentle and without judgement. He asks lots of questions and really listens to the answers. His approach is practical and through his teaching I have learned to understand and change my behaviour with money. I feel for the first time in my life, I am in charge of my finances, not the other way round.
We have had the pleasure of working with Nicholas for the past year and it has been truly transformational. Managing our finances always felt overwhelming and like we were wading through treacle with no end in sight or plan for the future. We are now in a position where we have a joint understanding of our financial situation and can look to the future with optimism with a very bright light at the end of the tunnel.
I wanted to take control of my finances. I needed information and guidance from someone I trust, who could educate and empower me enough to make decisions. Nicholas was the perfect choice. I can now see my financial future and what steps I need to take moving forward and I am happy.
This last year has been a very challenging one for us; it seems hard to believe that it was year ago when we realised there was something very much amiss with Jackie. Throughout the year you have been supportive and have perfectly judged when to encourage, when to sympathise and when just to listen. Thank you it is appreciated.
By careful questioning and some challenging prods, we faced up to our resistance. Nicholas understood that it was hard for us but was always positive and never critical. With his help we have been able to clear debts, budget and organise our finances, and put a pension and ISAs in place. More importantly our attitude towards money has changed and we no longer feel frozen with indecision. Nicholas has helped us to take action and we will be forever grateful for his expertise, kindness and good humour.
I’m delighted by the insight and support I got from Nicholas. I wanted to get an idea of what retirement might look like financially, and by asking me the right questions and guiding me to look accurately at my financial situation he’s transformed my thinking. Retirement, when I take it, no longer looks like a precipice.